


The Keeper

by ennaxor



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-07
Updated: 2015-02-07
Packaged: 2018-03-10 22:00:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3304913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ennaxor/pseuds/ennaxor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Where Vega learns a lot about quidditch, and considers where things stand with Wylie. (Takes shortly after Copper Bullet.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Keeper

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WeBuiltThePyramids](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeBuiltThePyramids/gifts).



> I really wanted to write something for Wylie/Vega, because I've fallen in love with them, and [Nicole](http://archiveofourown.org/users/WeBuiltThePyramids/profile) gave me the idea of Wylie teaching Vega how to play quidditch. I finished this right before "Nothing Gold Can Stay" aired, so nothing in that episode applies. (And I'm choosing to ignore that anyway and live in denial.)

It was a slow day in the FBI office. Vega refreshed her email again, hoping for some sort of assignment or request that would give her something to do. Nothing.

She looked around the quiet office and her eyes landed on Wylie, who was intently reading something on his computer. Just as she was wondering what he was working on, he started to laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

Wylie turned to look at her over his shoulder.

“Oh – sorry. Just a silly article one of my teammates sent me.”

“Teammates?”

“Quidditch teammates,” Wylie clarified, now turning his chair to face her. “Though I’m not officially on the team – work makes it hard to fully commit – but I practice with them when I can.”

“Quidditch?”

“Yeah – you know, like in Harry Potter –“

“I know what it is,” Vega interrupted. “I’ve seen the movies. But they’re on brooms.”

“You know you’re really missing out if you haven’t read the books –“

“Wylie. Not the point.”

“But –“

“So seeing as you can’t actually _fly_ ,” Vega continued, “how in the world do you play quidditch?”

“Well we still have brooms – usually a piece of PVC pipe, actually – and we hold them as we run. And the snitch is a person with a tennis ball in a sock hanging off the back of their shorts. But other than that, for the most part, it’s the same as it is in the books – and stop laughing!”

“I’m sorry!” Vega said through her laughter, ducking to avoid a paper ball Wylie threw at her. “I just – this I’ve gotta see.”

“There’s actually a tournament this weekend, if you want to go. I’m not playing, but I was gonna go and watch.”

Vega stopped laughing. Wylie’s eyebrows were raised just slightly, and he was looking hopeful. _You’re focusing on your career_ , she reminded herself. But… that didn’t mean she couldn’t have friends. And that’s all Wylie was, a friend. Right?

“Only if you promise that I won’t have to wear some type of cape,” she finally answered, very determinedly ignoring how her stomach flipped just a little when Wylie broke into a big grin.

“Well lucky for you we stopped wearing capes a few years ago…”

* * *

Wylie had offered to pick Vega up on Saturday morning, but she assured him she’d be fine meeting him at the park. The tournament was already well underway when she arrived, but before she could pull out her phone to call Wylie and see where he was, she heard him call out her name.

She turned towards his voice to see Wylie jogging up towards her, wearing jeans and a black jersey with gold lettering for the Austin Aurors.

“You made it!”

“Said I was going to come, didn’t I?” she said with a shrug. “So where’s the action at?”

“Actually, UT is about to play, and they’re the current world champions, so you got here just in time.”

They walked side by side towards the pitch, their arms occasionally brushing. Vega’s mind flashed back to when they’d danced a couple weeks prior, remembering how comfortable she’d felt in Wylie’s arms, how… easy it had been. But those thoughts led into a dangerous territory, so she pushed them aside to instead focus on listening to Wylie as he launched into an explanation of where the teams were currently ranked.

The pitch itself was a flat field of grass with the boundaries marked by plastic cones. At each end stood three hoops of varying height, around which the two teams were currently warming up. Wylie led Vega to an empty spot along the sidelines near midfield, then lowered himself to the ground. Vega followed suit, and if their knees were touching once they were both settled, they both pretended not to notice.

But any thoughts Vega might have had about Wylie’s knee (or his arms) were soon forgotten when the game started. She remembered Quidditch in the movies being dangerous – broken bones and people falling off of their brooms and flying metal balls that basically tried to kill you – but had assumed that any adaption based on it would be much more low key. After all, how physical were a bunch of Harry Potter fans really going to get?

She was wrong. From the moment the whistle blew and the two teams ran forward to collide at center field, fighting to take possession of the balls that were lined up there, it was clear that they took the “full contact” aspect that Wylie had told her about very seriously.

One of the players from University of Texas successfully grabbed the volleyball – _quaffle_ , she mentally corrected herself – and ran straight for the hoops, quickly giving his team an early 10 point lead. But then things became very complicated to watch, as Vega realized that there were four balls in play on the pitch, and that meant that there was a lot going on all over the place.

“Those dodge balls are the bludgers, right?” she asked Wylie. After he nodded his confirmation, she asked, “Aren’t there only two of them in the movies?”

“There are two bludgers in the _books_ ,” he began, and Vega rolled her eyes, “but there are three in this version. If your team is in possession of two bludgers, you have what’s called bludger control, obviously giving you an advantage. If your team only has one, then you’re trying to steal one from the other team, either by beating them, or –“

“Or like that?” Vega asked, watching as one beater tackled his opponent to the ground, stealing the bludger in the process.

“Yeah. Like that.”

The score stayed close through the beginning of the game, but then slowly Texas began to pull ahead. By the time Vega saw a guy dressed in yellow jog out onto the pitch, UT was ahead by 50 points.

If the game had been confusing before, it was even more chaotic once the two seekers took to the field.

“Why isn’t she trying to catch the snitch?” Vega asked, noticing how one seeker had her back to the snitch, and was instead simply blocking the other seeker from approaching the guy in yellow.

“Cause her team’s too far behind – the snitch is only worth 30 points, instead of the 150 in the books. It’d be like when Krum caught it, but Ireland still won.“

Vega gave him a blank look.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You would if you had read the books,” Wylie said, pushing his shoulder playfully against her. “But anyway, even with the extra 30 points, her team would still lose if she caught it right now.”

Vega found herself ignoring the quaffle play to watch the snitching instead. Beaters from both teams kept attacking their opposing seeker, sending the seekers running back to touch their hoops before they could rejoin the game. Finally, one of the UT seeker’s dives towards the snitch was successful, and he jumped up from where he landed on the grass, raising the yellow sock high in victory.

After a quick discussion the referees declared the catch good and the game was over, and Wylie and Vega cheered loudly along with the rest of the crowd.

“So what’d you think?” Wylie asked, hopping to his feet before offering a hand to Vega. She smiled as she allowed him to take her hand and pull her up.

“I have to admit – it’s a lot more intense than I was expecting. I’m actually impressed.”

Wylie grinned.

They stopped by a table that was selling snacks, and despite Vega’s protests, Wylie paid for both of them (“I insist – I’m sure you had other things you could be doing with your Saturday over watching people run around on brooms.”), then they wandered back towards a second pitch where Wylie’s team was getting ready to play.

“What position are you?” Vega asked, watching the players run drills to warm up.

“Keeper, usually. The height helps with that. Occasionally beater, but that’s a little too stressful for me.”

Vega snorted.

“You’re in the FBI.”

“So?”

“So we deal with high risk situations on a daily basis – but you get stressed out when you’re responsible for a dodge ball?”

Wylie looked like he was trying to be offended, but eventually broke into a smile.

“Fine, fine, laugh if you want. But some of those other beaters throw _hard_ , okay?”

Vega rolled her eyes and sat down on the ground.

“If you say so.”

They cheered loudly as the Austin Aurors took the field, and Vega was pleased that she was able to follow this game better than the first. In the end the Auror seeker caught the snitch to secure their victory, and then Wylie and Vega approached the celebrating team to congratulate them.

“Hey, it’s the Coyote!”

A few of the Aurors greeted Wylie with hugs and high fives, and Vega stood back slightly to watch, suddenly fascinated by this peek into Wylie’s life outside of work. She didn’t have many friends growing up – it was hard when her dad’s career had them moving every few years – and recently she was more concerned with work than her social life. But seeing Wylie’s smile as he talked to his friends made her wonder if she should consider adjusting her focus – just a little bit.

“Hey – are you Vega?” one of the guys asked, startling her out of her thoughts.

“Yes,” she said, shooting Wylie a look of confusion. His eyebrows were raised, and his eyes were darting back and forth between Vega and the guy who’d spoken. “How did you –“

“I told them I might be bringing a friend today,” Wylie said quickly. “Guys, this is Vega, she’s my – we – uh, she works with me at the FBI.”

Vega smiled and gave a little wave to the group.

“Hi. Congratulations on that win!”

“It would have been better if we had the Coyote playing with us,” the guy who’d known her name said, wrapping an arm around Wylie’s shoulders. “You should see him on the field.”

“I’m not _that_ good,” Wylie argued, looking down at the ground, but Vega noticed he still looked pleased. It was kind of adorable.

“He’s also really good at handling his broom, if you know what I –“

“ _Peter!_ ” Wylie interrupted, now pushing his friend away. His face was turning bright red.

“Hey, Aurors!” a voice yelled from the sidelines. “Post-game meeting in 60 seconds! Hustle!”

“See ya later,” Peter said to Wylie, as he and the rest of the team took off towards towards their captain.

Wylie was still very determinedly avoiding Vega’s eyes, and she tried to think of something to say that would make this less awkward.

“Coyote?” she finally asked, aiming for a light teasing tone.

It seemed to do the trick, as Wylie finally looked up, looking slightly less mortified, though his cheeks were still pink. He shrugged.

“Cho tried to explain it to me once. Something about sex trafficking and a cartoon. I decided after that it was better not to know.”

“Sex traff – never mind. I don’t think I want to know either.”

They stood in silence for another minute, Vega looking around at the activity around them, Wylie back to mostly looking at the ground. Well this wasn’t going to do.

Vega noticed that the quaffle that had been used during the last match was still sitting nearby on the ground. A small smile forming on her face, she walked over and picked it up. The ball was deflated slightly to make it easier to hold, and she tossed it lightly from hand to hand. Glancing up to make sure she had Wylie’s attention, she tossed it back to her right hand, and then threw it as hard as she could in his direction.

Startled, Wylie just managed to swat the ball away from hitting him in the face.

“Just checking if your keeping skills are as good as Peter said,” Vega said, trying not to laugh at the shocked look on his face. “Not bad.”

After a moment, Wylie returned her smile.

“Okay, that’s it. Grab a broom.”

“Aren’t they going to need this stuff for another game soon?” Vega asked, already picking up one of the discarded brooms near her.

“It’s fine – there’s a short break right now for lunch.”

Wylie was clearing the area around one of the set of hoops, tossing aside a few brooms and one of the bludgers that had been left behind there, then positioned himself in front of the center hoop.

“Come on then. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

“Oh, you are so on.”

Vega held the broom with her left hand and picked up the quaffle with her right. A little bit of friendly competition – this was familiar territory.

She slowly approached him, looking for an opening. After faking two shots, neither of which Wylie reacted to, she let go while she was still several feet away from him and watched as the quaffle sailed towards the middle hoop – and right into his outstretched hand. He smirked as he threw the ball back to her.

Four more attempts – and four blocked shots – later, it was clear that her current plan of attack was no good. No matter how many times she tried to fake him out, or which hoop she aimed at, he was able to stop the goal. Well if shooting from a distance didn’t work, then she’d just have to get closer.

Bracing herself, Vega darted towards the right hoop. She could see the moment that Wylie realized she wasn’t stopping, and after a split second of hesitation he stepped forward to meet her. But that hesitation was all she needed, and as he was still moving to stop her movement towards the small hoop, she spun to her left to get around him, and then tossed the ball up high and through the center hoop.

“Gooooal!” she yelled, lifting her broom in victory.

“And now you’re off broom,” Wylie pointed out, nodding to where it was raised above her head.

“But the goal’s still good, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let’s see if you can do that again.”

This time Wylie didn’t hesitate to step forward when she got close, and when she tried to spin he wrapped an arm around her, halting her progress. Her FBI training instincts kicked in, and she swiped a foot behind his legs and pushed – next thing she knew Wylie was on the ground, wincing.

“I’m so sorry!” she exclaimed, dropping the ball and broom and kneeling next to him. “Are you okay?”

“I think it’s mostly my pride that’s wounded,” Wylie said, sitting up slowly. “Ow, okay, and my head hurts too.”

Vega reached out to check for a bump or wound, but Wylie flinched as soon as her hand brushed against his hair, and she pulled back.

“Did that hurt?” she asked, concerned.

“No. I mean – I just wasn’t –“ He gingerly raised a hand to feel the back of his head. “I’ll be fine.”

Vega helped him to his feet, and they slowly walked back towards the sidelines.

“You are aware that tripping me was totally illegal, right?” Wylie asked with a grin after a few steps.

“And _you_ are aware that your entire sport comes from a children’s book, right?”

“Says the FBI agent who plays video games.”

“Says the FBI agent who set up a video game system _at work_.”

Wylie paused.

“Says… says…”

Vega laughed and bumped up against him with her shoulder.

“I win.”

“Only this round.”

Vega looked up at him and smiled (he was so _tall_ ), and for a moment allowed herself to enjoy the warmth that filled her as he grinned back. But before either of them could speak again, Wylie’s gaze shifted, distracted by something that was happening behind her. Vega turned around to see his friend Peter across the field, giving Wylie two big thumbs up.

Wylie floundered for an explanation.

“I… he… he’s just…”

Vega finally took pity on him and shook her head.

“Don’t worry about it. Let’s go see what’s – does that snitch have _water balloons_?”

* * *

When Vega arrived to work on Monday morning, there was a paperback copy of _Sorcerer’s Stone_ at her desk. Her eyes shot over to Wylie, and though he didn’t turn to look at her, even from behind she could tell he was smiling.

She sank into her chair, eyes now back on the book.

Conflicting thoughts ran through her head, _you’re focusing on work_ , and _it’s just a book_. Slowly she reached out to pick it up. The spine was creased, and the edges of the pages were soft – clearly a copy that had been read many times. She opened the front cover to find Wylie’s name scrawled in childish print. She was surprised, and touched, that he would trust her with what had to be an important book to him.

Vega looked back up towards Wylie, and as if he felt her gaze, he finally turned his head to look at her, shooting her a small smile. Vega returned it, and carefully set the book aside with her things.

Yes, it was still important to her to focus on work. But maybe she could make room for some other things as well.

**Author's Note:**

> University of Texas at Austin really is the currently World Champion, having won in 2013 and 2014. Wylie's team, the Austin Aurors, I made up.


End file.
